Nugent-Hopkins ‘very proud’ to become 1st to play 1,000 games all with Oilers

EDMONTON -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been the one constant for the Edmonton Oilers through all the roster moves, coaching changes and carousel of general managers in the past 15 seasons.

The 32-year-old forward, selected by Edmonton with the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, toiled through some trying times early on, but he has seen the team develop into a Stanley Cup contender and will become the first player to reach 1,000 games solely with the Oilers when they host the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Place on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, FDSNMW).

“I think if you can get to this point in your career, play 1,000 games in this league, things have to go right for you and you have stick with a lot of it, and I’m very proud to be able to have done it,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “Obviously, coming in as the first pick, there’s a lot of expectations and talk around you, but what I started to learn is that I’m just who I am, and I can’t control the outside things and I’m going to be the player that I’m going to be and try to be the best version of myself.”

Nugent-Hopkins was the second of three consecutive No. 1 draft selections by the Oilers, who went through a lengthy rebuilding phase after losing in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes. Following its run to the Final, Edmonton missed the playoffs the next 10 seasons.

Nugent-Hopkins arrived five seasons into the drought, and he was expected to be a key cog in an Oilers rebuild that started with the selection of forward Taylor Hall (No. 1 in 2010 NHL Draft) and continued with forward Nail Yakupov (No. 1 in 2012 NHL Draft).

“We obviously felt a little bit [of pressure] about that, but at the same time, we understood where the team actually was realistically, and we were kids kind of getting our feet wet in the NHL and were trying to enjoy it as much as we could and we did that for sure,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “We had a lot of fun with it, but there were some frustrating times, definitely no question about that.”

Nugent-Hopkins played his part that first season. He had 52 points (18 goals, 34 assists) in 62 games and finished second in voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year to Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche.

“His rookie season was pretty electric,” Hall said. “He came in, and there was a question of whether he was going to go back down to the (Western Hockey League) or not. He played his way, not only to fitting in the NHL, but being up for the Calder Trophy and having a really good year. I was so lucky and fortunate to play with a centerman like ‘Nuge’ for a lot of my time in Edmonton. I’m really happy for him for what he’s accomplished.”

Following his rookie season, Nugent-Hopkins worked on developing his defensive game and has since grown to be one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL. He posted a career-high 104 points (37 goals, 67 assists) in 82 games in 2022-23.

“To see ‘Nuge’ reach that milestone all here in Edmonton speaks to his loyalty here in Edmonton and how much he likes the city, likes the fans, likes the organization,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “He’s an unbelievable guy, a great teammate, a guy that I can’t say enough good things about.”

Nugent-Hopkins is the longest-serving player on the Oilers’ current roster. Only defenseman Kevin Lowe (1,037), in two separate tenures, has played more games with Edmonton.

It’s been an impressive run for Nugent-Hopkins considering all the turnover during his time in Edmonton.

His first coach was Tom Renney, who was replaced by Ralph Krueger. Dallas Eakins was next, followed by Todd Nelson, Todd McLellan, Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippett, Jay Woodcroft and now Kris Knoblauch.

Steve Tambellini was Nugent-Hopkins’ first general manager. Then came Craig MacTavish, Peter Chiarelli, Keith Gretzky (interim), Ken Holland, Jeff Jackson (interim) and Stan Bowman.

“I definitely think each coach has taught me a little something different, because every single coach, whether they have the same system or not, they coach differently,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “I mean there’s been a few and I like to think that I’ve taken something from each one.”

Nugent-Hopkins is in the fifth season of an eight-year, $41 million contract ($5.125 million average annual value) he signed on June 29, 2021, and despite seeing a number of friends and teammates move on, he never considered leaving Edmonton on his own accord.

“At that time (signing new contract) there was not a question this is where I wanted to be,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “I wanted to do whatever structure, whatever to make it work here, and there was not a serious thought that I had about leaving.

“Part of it was that I went through a lot of dark days, struggled, and then the team was coming and we were building something. We were getting to a point where we were going to have a chance to win and I didn’t want to leave that.”

Referred to by Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl as “the coach’s favorite” during the 2024 Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars, Nugent-Hopkins has always been receptive to coaching, dating back to his days with Red Deer of the Western Hockey League.

He had 106 points (31 goals, 75 assists) in 69 games as a 17-year-old playing for coach Jesse Wallin, who is now chief amateur scout for the Detroit Red Wings.

“There’s no maintenance, he’s just always willing to learn, he’s willing to listen,” Wallin said. “He’s driven to get better, and he just comes to work. He loves to play, and he shows up every day ready to go.”

Wallin is not surprised Nugent-Hopkins will reach 1,000 games in the NHL after two full seasons in Red Deer. What is surprising, however, is that no other player has reached the milestone with just the Oilers.

Earlier this season, forward Adam Henrique became the first player to reach 1,000 NHL games as a member of the Oilers, but the bulk of his career was spent with the New Jersey Devils (455 games) and Anaheim Ducks (435).

“I grew up as an Oilers fan in the ‘80s, and you think of the players -- Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Kevin Lowe -- and you watched those teams and now to see him come through and play all those games, it’s mind-boggling to me, it’s out of this world,” Wallin said. “When you’ve got a guy like that, that a franchise wants to have around for that length of time and sees his value to your organization, I just really think it speaks not only to the quality of player he is, but the quality of person he is.”

NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report